How much studying is too much studying?
This is a question that every student faces at one point or another. Let’s face it; studying is necessary if you intend to pass any assessment. This post will therefore answer a question I got from a cousin of mine that is pushing her way through business school… the question is “is studying 12 hours a day too much?”
With that said, let’s get right into it.
Is studying 12 hours a day too much?
Studying 12 hours a day isn’t too much if you do it the right way. This means taking breaks between study sessions, reviewing what you’ve studied, assessing how much information you are able to retain in order to understand the effectiveness of your study techniques.
The most important thing more than how much or how long you study is how much you learn and how much of that knowledge you can directly apply either in your life, examination or any other assessment.
The Myth of Long Hour studies
One of the common myth that students have when it comes to studying is that long hours mean learning a lot of information. This is not completely true because people are different and while a 5 hour study session may be effective for some students, it may not be as effective and efficient for other students.
Therefore, what you should strive for is figuring out your retention and comprehension capabilities by doing some self-analysis.
Factors to consider
Below I’m going to discuss some of the questions you need to answer before you decide whether or not studying for 12 hours a day is going to be effective or not.
What kind of learner are you?
Before you even consider studying for long hours you first have to understand the kind of reader you are. Some people find it hard to concentrate for long hours while others can concentrate for long hours without facing any challenges at all.
You need to figure out which category you fit into. Once you do that, you need to assess the kind of learner you are. Slow learners need more time to grasp concepts and understand topics therefore spending 12 hours a day studying can be not only effective but also helpful for them.
Faster learners on the other hand can get away with studying only for a limited amount of hours because they can learn and assimilate information at a faster rate.
With that said, it’s important for readers to understand what kind of learner they are when deciding how long they should study for.
What are you studying for?
People study for different reasons. Maybe you’re a student; maybe you’re a graduate studying up for an interview etc…
Depending on what you’re studying for, 12 hours may be too much or too little. Therefore understand the need for the studying and you’ll easily figure out how much of your day you need to spend studying.
How complex is the information you’re studying?
Information comes in different densities, while it may be easier to read 50 pages of a history book and understand the gist, it may not be so easy to read to study complex subjects like mathematical algorithms that require more attention and careful handling.
Therefore, some subjects or information require more effort and time which means spending 12 hours may be helpful.
As somebody studying or looking to study for long hours, you need to understand the kind of information you’re up against before you decide how much study time you can allot to it.
What is your preferred study medium?
Take some time to understand which study medium works the best for you. Some people prefer watching videos and taking notes while others prefer studying books.
Once you understand your preferred study medium you can easily decide how long you can study. For most people reading books require more time, watching videos is faster, therefore it’s important to figure out which group you fall into.
How long can you study for before your brain tires?
It’s not just about studying for long hours. What’s more important is how much information your brain can take before it tires out and your comprehension deteriorates.
Spend time figuring out how engaged you can be in the study process before comprehension starts deteriorating.
How much information do your retain?
How much information can you retain if you study for 12 hours a day? This is the question you need answer before you decide whether or not studying for 12 hours a day is too much or okay.
How to prepare for long study sessions
Below are some of the strategies that you can employ if you’re looking to study for long hours.
Figure out how much you need to study
Know how much you have to study so you can properly allocate time to studying.
Studying without prior planning doesn’t work and can prove to be a waste of time.
So ensure that you establish how much information you need to learn and then do the following step.
Figure out how much time you have
Once you figure out how much you need to study, the next thing you’ll have to do is figure out how much time you have to learn and study that information.
For example, if you have an exam in 3 days, then you have 3 days to study and prepare. Its then up to you to allocate 3 days to studying and learning as much as you can.
Schedule out your study sessions
To study for long sessions, you need to have a healthy and productive schedule that allows you to achieve your goal.
Therefore create a schedule around your life that will allow you to study.
If you’re a student, my advice is; make studying a part of your life. Don’t just integrate it into your life, make it a part of your life.
Study and review
Always break your study sessions into study and review sessions. What I mean is that you should spend time learning new information and spend time reviewing that new information. After completing your paper, you can submit it for review at mybestwriting.com, and they will refine it specifically for you. By revising any mistakes, it will be easier for you to grasp the material you’ve learned.
This will make your study sessions more effective because you’ll just not study things and move on to other things, you’ll go over things and ensure that you cement your understanding.
Employ different learning methods
If you are going to spend a significant time studying, you need to consider using different study mediums to give your brain a break and allow it to receive information in a different way.
Always gather video content, articles, blogs, books, reports etc. that are related to your studies so you can navigate through different sources of information. This can help you stay engaged with the study material and make studying for long hours easier to achieve.
